In the vehicle industry, certain rotary accessory devices are often used in connection with vehicle motors. One such accessory device is an alternator. An alternator is used in connection with an engine and is typically belt driven by the engine. The alternator has internal components, which when rotated, supply electrical power to a vehicle and/or an engine. The alternator communicates bi-directionally with an engine controller and other electronic control units (ECUs) of the vehicle. Such bi-directional communication provides data from sensors on the vehicle in the form of one or more parameters to the alternator. This communication begins when the alternator is started and ideally continues throughout the operation of the vehicle. The alternator is controlled by the vehicle (e.g., the engine controller or other ECUs) based on the feedback from the alternator itself The operation of the alternator consumes energy from the engine, and hence fuel.
However, there are scenarios in which the alternator fails to establish communication with the engine controller at startup, and/or loses communication with the engine controller during operation. Such a disruption in the communication between the alternator and the engine controller can cause the alternator and/or the vehicle itself to malfunction. For example, when the alternator loses communication with the engine controller, the alternator continues to provide the same output as prior to losing the communication, when a lower output may suffice. However, if the alternator continues to provide a higher output than is needed, this may result in lower engine fuel efficiency.
Accordingly, there is a need to test such scenarios in which the communication between the alternator and the engine is disrupted or did not initiate at startup of the alternator.